Footwear

ABSTRACT

FOOTWEAR WITH AN INNER SOLE, AN OUTER SOLE AND AN INTERMEDIATE SOLE HAS HOLDING MEANS ACTING TO HOLD THE INTERMEDIATE SOLE IN PREDETERMINED POSITION ADJACENT THE INNER SOLE PRIOR TO THE MOUNTING OF THE OUTER SOLE.   D R A W I N G

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 o. E DER ETA!- FOO'IWEAR Jan. 19, 1971 Flled July 291969 Jan. 19, 1971 EDER ETAL 3,555,705

FOOTWEAR Filed July 29, 1969- 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 US. Cl. 362.5 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Footwear with an inner sole, an outer soleand an intermediate sole has holding means acting to hold theintermediate sole in predetermined position adjacent the inner soleprior to the mounting of the outer sole.

The invention relates to footwear with a sewn-in inner sole and anattached synthetic or rubber outer sole, p rticularly a foamedpolyurethane outer sole, as well as an intermediate sole between theinner sole and the outer sole.

Shoes are manufactured either in crimped or pinched form or by sewing inthe inner sole. While shoes with a pinched supporting layer generallyhave a stiff inner sole or a stiff intermediate sole, shoes with asewn-in inner sole are flexible. This flexibility, however, proves to bedisadvantageous, particularly in street shoes. In order to correct thisdeficiency, such shoes generally are provided with supporting layerreinforcements or intermediate soles. Various reinforcements are knownwhich are placed onto the inner sole before soling.

During soling it happens frequently that these reinforcements are movedoff the required position, which causes subsequent irregularities in theshoe. When the intermediate sole is applied by cementing, there isneeded an additional material, namely the cement, and at least anadditional operation step which, in turn, renders the product moreexpensive.

It is accordingly among the principal objects of the invention toobviate these disadvantages of the prior art.

It is another object of the invention to provide the shoe with anintermediate sole which before soling is held below the inner sole byplacing it in one or more suspension devices provided on the inner sole.Such suspension devices may, for instance, be straps or slots. Thus theintermediate sole is quickly attached to the inner sole when the shaftis placed onto the last and will be held in place during the solingprocess.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inpart in the following specification and in part will be obvioustherefrom without being specifically referred to, the same beingrealized and attained as pointed out in the claims hereof.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be best understoodfrom the following description of exemplifications thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

United States Patent 0 3,555,705 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 ICC FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a shoe with an inner sole and an intermediate soleheld thereon by straps connected to the upper of the shoe;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 1, but showing amodification in which the intermediate sole is held by straps cut offthe inner sole; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modifiedtwo-piece intermediate sole.

In carrying the invention into effect in the embodiments which have beenselected for illustration in the accompanying drawings and fordescription in this specification, and referring now particularly toFIG. 1, a shoe 1 has an upper 2 to the lower part of which there is sewnan inner sole 3 along the line 4. Below the inner sole 4 there isprovided a reinforcement layer that forms an intermediate sole 5. Theintermediate sole 5 is held against the inner sole 3 by straps 6, 7 and8. The intermediate sole 5 may be made of cardboard, pressed leatherfibers, cellulose fibers, or the like.

In soling the shoes, the upper 2 with the sewn-in inner sole 3 isprovided with straps, 6, 7 and 8. Thereafter the intermediate sole 5 ismoved between the straps 6, 7, 8' and the inner sole 3. Then the last(not shown) is mounted on a sole form and subsequently the outer sole,for instance made of polyurethane, is foamed up.

FIG. 2 illustrates a modification wherein the intermediate reinforcingsole 5 is placed in slots that are formed by cut out suspension straps 9and 10 in the inner sole 3. To prevent projection of the elastic solematerial of the inner sole 3 from entering into the inner shoe, an innersole 3 of several layers may be used and only the outermost layer beslotted to form the suspension straps 9 and 10.

In the modification of FIG. 3 there is held in the region of the ball ofthe foot a first intermediate reinforcing sole portion 11 and in theheel region a second intermediate reinforcing sole portion 15 that isnot connected to the portion 11 and is spaced therefrom for a distanceacross the middle of the inner sole 3. The portion 11 is held by straps12 and 13, while the portion 15 is held by a strap 14. The straps 12, 13and 14 are connected to the upper 2. By this construction, a higherelasticity is attained in the center section.

We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire tobe secured by Letters Patent, is as follows.

1. Footwear comprising:

an upper,

an inner sole,

an outer sole of a synthetic resin material or rubber,

permanent intermediate sole means disposed between said inner sole andsaid outer sole, and

suspension means operable to hold up to and throughout soling saidintermediate sole means in predetermined position adjacent said innersole, in which position the internal surface of said intermediate solemeans engages at least the major portion of the outer surface of saidinner sole, prior to the mounting of said outer sole.

2. Footwear, as claimed in claim 1, said suspension means comprising atleast one strap connected to said upper and engaging said intermediatesole means.

3. Footwear, as claimed in claim 1, said suspension means comprising atleast one strap cut from at least the outermost layer of said inner soleand defining with said inner sole a slot, said intermediate sole meansbeing disposed in said slot and engaged by said strap.

4. Footwear, as claimed in claim 1, said holding means including aplurality of straps engaging the external surface of said intermediatesole means.

5. Footwear, as claimed in claim 1, said intermediate sole meansincluding a plurality of intermediate sole portions, said suspensionmeans including at least two straps,

4 each engaging one of said portions, said portions being spaced apartfrom each other across a gap near the center of said inner sole.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,291,799 8/1941 Discenza 121422,963,722 12/1960 Stix 12l45 3,270,357 9/1966 MacPherson 12-1423,386,116 6/1968 Batchelder et a1. 12-142 PATRICK D.LAWSON, PrimaryExaminer U.S. Cl. X.R. 12-145

